FRIDAY, 9TH MOON COUNT:

My legs dangled from the roof as I watched the rows of houses. Smoke rose into the sky from some chimneys. The last golden rays pierced the horizon and bathed the city in a warm glow.

The sun was slowly going to sleep. Everything was peaceful, especially the forest and mountains surrounding the city. A cool breeze was in the air, tickling my hair.

"Ephilia!"

My legs stopped and I looked down. Uncle Theo stood in front of the house and looked up at me. His work clothes were all white from dried clay, just like mine. Let's go."

I sighed before nodding.

I jumped onto the first floor balcony before climbing down the wood and landing on my feet in front of Uncle Theo.

"You know how much I hate it when you do that. Eventually you're going to break your neck," he said, eyebrows furrowed.

"And you know I've never fallen. Also, today is a day to celebrate! Finally we've made it!"

I wrapped my arm around Uncle Theo and turned him over so he could admire his work. He had pounded two houses out of the ground where before there had been nothing but dirt and leaves.

"There's a reason Alpha Fenrir made me builder and not Peterson," replied Uncle Theo with a malicious laugh.

i grinned He really was the best. Alpha Fenrir had ambushed him with this assignment of utmost importance: the building of two houses within three weeks. For this, Uncle Theo even had to deviate from his trademark of the houses. Instead of half-timbered houses, there were two log houses made of tree trunks.

Alpha Fenrir hadn't even told us who the houses were for. A dark feeling crept over me. I looked at the treetops, on which only a few red-brown leaves were hanging.

Somewhere beyond that lurked the Silverblood Pack. Dark rumors overshadowed it. The people there had it bad under the rule of the werewolves. They were no more than slaves. And the wolves weren't exactly nicer to other packs.

Sometimes when I roamed the city, I would hear them talking. Silverblood must have defeated some Alphas and taken over their territories. If the rest of the packs didn't pull themselves together, it was only a matter of time before our demise.

And then life as we knew it was over. A shiver ran through my stomach.

"Don't worry. Maybe only new wolves move in," said Uncle Theo.

I nodded, though I didn't share his optimism.

There was something in the evening air and it wasn't relief.

~~~~~~

17-year-old Ephilia lives with her uncle in the Mountain Shadow Pack.

But living with the werewolves is not always easy given the rules that apply to humans.

And then Alpha Eros from the north joins in. Not even the silverblood pack could stand against him.

But help rarely comes without a price...

~~~~~~

In a world where werewolves have power over humans, there are two options:

fighting or joining.

I've never been good in combat. So I decided to maneuver my way through the minefield of werewolves and their ways. And for 9 years I was successful with it.

9 years.

Maybe I shouldn't have broken the rules and it would have been another 9 years. But fate would have it otherwise. The fighting between the packs was at its peak and I was in the thick of it. And then the North got involved, throwing the balance of power completely out of whack with their leader:

Alpha Eros.

A legend and not in a good way. And attracting attention was my talent, so to speak...